Shloka 39

Adhyaya 4: अहोरात्र-युग-मन्वन्तर-कल्पमान तथा प्रलयान्ते सृष्ट्युपक्रमः

Devanagari script

कल्पे ऽतीते तु वै विप्राः सहस्राणां तु सप्ततिः पुनस्तथाष्टसाहस्रं सर्वत्रैव समासतः

Transliteration

kalpe 'tīte tu vai viprāḥ sahasrāṇāṃ tu saptatiḥ punastathāṣṭasāhasraṃ sarvatraiva samāsataḥ

Translation

O ihr brahmanischen Weisen, wenn ein Kalpa vergangen ist, heißt es zusammenfassend: siebzigtausend, und wiederum ebenso achttausend; dies ist die überall überlieferte Gesamtsumme nach der traditionellen Zählung.

Word by Word

• कल्पे (kalpe): in a kalpa/aeon

• अतीते (atīte): having passed/elapsed

• तु (tu): indeed

• वै (vai): surely

• विप्राः (viprāḥ): O Brahmins/sages

• सहस्राणाम् (sahasrāṇām): of thousands

• तु (tu): and/indeed

• सप्ततिः (saptatiḥ): seventy

• पुनः (punaḥ): again

• तथा (tathā): likewise

• अष्टसाहस्रम् (aṣṭa-sāhasram): eight thousand

• सर्वत्र (sarvatra): everywhere/in all accounts

• एव (eva): indeed

• समासतः (samāsataḥ): in brief/summarized

Speaker

Suta Goswami

Characters & Entities

• Sages (Vipras)

FAQs

What is the importance of this verse in the context of Linga worship?

It situates Linga-centered dharma within vast kalpa cycles, implying that devotion to Pati (Shiva) and the Linga persists as a perennial means for pashus (souls) to cross recurring creation and dissolution.

How does this verse describe the nature of Shiva (Shiva-tattva)?

By emphasizing kalpa-transcending measures of time and recurring totals, it indirectly points to Shiva as Pati—unchanging and sovereign across cycles—while the manifested cosmos repeatedly arises and resolves under his governance.

What ritualistic or Yogic practice is highlighted here?

No specific rite is prescribed in this line; the takeaway is the Shaiva contemplative frame used in Pashupata Yoga—meditating on impermanence of kalpas and taking refuge in Shiva as the timeless ground.